Starting Own Practice

Software. Marketing. Training. Running your business.
#1
Posts:
7
Joined:
7-May-2018 4:56pm
Location:
Michigan
Hi everyone,

I've decided i want to open my own practice with about 5-6 monthly clients (s-corp, LLC) to start. I'm a CPA and have been doing bookkeeping/taxes for about 10 years and all i've ever worked with is TR products(Filecabinet, fixed assets, ultra tax, accounting cs). I would like your advice on the best alternative to all those products. I'm going to describe what I want to do so you have a better understanding of what i actually need the products to do:

-Be able to input checks, je, bank recs, etc for multiple clients (dont need payroll)
-Be able to export YE financials from accounting program to tax program
-Be able to input fixed assets and keep track of depreciation
-Store everything like filecabinet allows

I've used quickbooks but am very limited, I don't mind learning it as it seems close to CS, i just don't know if allows me to do all the things i need for multiple clients. Also, is there a special kind of quickbooks for bookkeepers to use?

I estimate i'll probably do around 20-30 business returns & 50 individual at the end of the year.

Appreciate any help you guys can give me!
 

#2
Posts:
1716
Joined:
28-Jul-2017 12:08pm
Location:
Somewhere out there...
For strictly in-house accounting, I like...Excel
 

#3
Posts:
835
Joined:
1-Sep-2020 2:47pm
Location:
845-NY
Quickbooks pro for windows should do what you need for monthly bookkeeping and write up. You are able to have multiple company files, aka multiple clients.
The accountant version comes with windows, mac, and enterprise versions of the software. You probably don't need all of that.

UT does have a prp license that you can use for tax returns just getting started. That's what I used my first year. CS will also negotiate on the unlimited license and FC license. I was PRP for the first year plus tax season, but then negotiated a good deal on unlimited. I was also able to negotiate the FC price. The renewal on FC is much more affordable than the first license.

UT does have asset functionality as a part of the tax software, but not as advanced as the CS Fixed Asset. I don't need fixed assets so I didn't get that.

I can reply more when I'm at a desktop, so throw out any more questions you might have.

For what it's worth. There are other tax software that is much cheaper than UT, but I had 15 years experience using it, and was the person at my firm that helped others trouble shoot issues, etc. That experience and knowledge is worth something, and so is not making a mistake that might cost you a client or your reputation. Not trying to sell UT, but it was a factor in my decision making process.
 

#4
Posts:
1174
Joined:
21-Apr-2014 7:09pm
Location:
NC
95 percent of all business clients use QuickBooks. THAT is all you need to know.

make yourself an expert, Learn how to merge names, accounts , etc.

A CPA who doesn’t know QBs in a small practice is in a gun fight with a knife.
 

#5
Posts:
8151
Joined:
4-Mar-2018 9:03pm
Location:
The Office
There will be trade offs and you'll have to do a cost benefit analysis to discover what the best setup is for you.

For example, if you go with the TR integrated CS suite, you're going to pay for it. Whether it's worth the marginal amount of efficiency you pick up is up to you. However, that setup might not be the best if you just have 5-6 bookkeeping clients starting out, and 70-80 income tax compliance clients by the end of year 1.

Take a look at Drake software. It has an integrated fixed asset manager that, while not perfect, is acceptable for tracking and reporting annual tax depreciation. Compare the price and value of Drake to Ultratax and Fixed Assets CS.

Don't forget to consider research software. CCH, RIA, BNA, Parker, etc.

I like QBO for accounting. You can sign up for a QBO Accountant account. It's free. Clients who have QBO or purchase QBO can then invite your firm to their QBO as an accountant and you're off to the races. You can also maintain your own books through QBO Accountant, as well as invoice clients and accept payment.

Consider a client portal for secure document transfer as well. When I started I used Drake's portal that used to be called SecureFilePro (now called DrakePortals), but upgraded to Citrix ShareFile last year, which is expensive, but I deem worth it.

I see you are a CPA. You should consider joining the AICPA, especially the tax section. The latter gives you access to many practice documents (e.g. tax return checklists, flow charts, etc), as well as annual engagement letter and organizer templates. Also the Tax Advisor magazine monthly, which is very helpful.
 

#6
Posts:
2467
Joined:
24-Apr-2014 7:54am
Location:
Wisconsin
When I started my practice, I used Drake because I used it at my previous employer and expected few returns my first year. For my second season, I researched other software and landed on UltraTax for my practice. I pay about 2.5x for UltraTax what I would pay for Drake and the differential will grow as I continue to grow. But, for my practice it's been a great fit.

Personally, I don't use any of the other CS products. Every year I ask for them to make Workpapers and Fixed Assets available on a per-return price basis and I get told that there's no plans to do that. It's a shame, because I have a few clients which I could use that for but could never justify the full price. I use QuickBooks instead of Accounting CS. I use a Windows structure to emulate FileCabinet; I don't see any point getting on that platform as a sole practitioner.

TR is starting to move everything over to their new online software platform (called Onvio) including the tax software and if you're thinking about starting with TR it could be easier to start on that platform. It is the way of the future.

Of the value-priced software, Drake is almost universally the best choice and I highly suggest that you test the software out. It's at least helpful to know what other options there are, and you might like it a lot -- who knows?

You might find this helpful too https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/is ... urvey.html
 


Return to Business Operations and Development



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: CaptCook, Google Adsense [Bot], Seaside CPA, smtcpa and 26 guests